AT-14 (Spriggan) / 9M133 (Kornet)

History

As far as possible armor-piercing measures are concerned, the Russian military industry is not resting on its laurels - hence the recent introduction of the 9M133 "Kornet" ("short No."), designated by NATO as AT-14 "Spriggan". The weapon is an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) with the missile itself, a tripod and integrated optics.

The missile was unveiled in late 1994, and after extensive testing, it was adopted by the Russian military before the turn of the century. The Kornet system is designed to significantly enhance the capabilities of the anti-tank missile systems currently deployed by the Russian Army, although the cost-constrained nature of the Kornet prevents it from directly replacing earlier models.

The rocket assembly is a tail stabilized solid rocket propellant development that relies on SACLOS (Semi-Automatic Line of Sight Command) laser beam guidance (the operator must keep the designator on target). during the flight envelope of the rocket). It is capable of carrying a HEAT (High Explosive, Anti-Tank) or Thermobaric (Fuel-Air-Explosive) warhead and weighs 27 kg, is 1,200 mm long and has a diameter of 152 mm. Effective against all types of armor protection to date, including Rolling Homogeneous Armor (RHA) and Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) blocks common to many frontline main battle tanks.

The blast is detonated by a shock fuze and has a range of up to 10,000 meters with accuracy within a 5-meter radius, depending on the missile used.

In practice, the cornet system is usually operated by a two-crew crew and can be fired from its traditional tripod arrangement or from the cover of an armored vehicle (like the BMP-3 series) if the launcher is mounted on the vehicle itself. It has experienced considerable combat exposure, as demonstrated by Iraqi forces fighting American elements during the coalition's invasion of the oil-rich country in 2003. In subsequent operations, the cornet is believed to have destroyed/disabled several U.S. Army vehicles, including the legendary M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank (MBT).

Hezbollah (via Syria) performed additional combat service on Israeli tanks - missiles again captured a small number of enemy armored vehicles. The cornets are currently being used in the Russian-Ukrainian war in the Donbas region, where the modern Iraqi army is using this missile against ISIS elements in ongoing battles in the region (in return, some of these weapons have fallen into ISIS hands and into fighters) .

There are three notable variants in the Kornet missile system family - the 9M133-1 is the standard 9M133 missile with a tandem HEAT warhead, and the 9M133-1 is the 9M133-1 missile with a thermobaric warhead. "Kornet-D" is designed to counter threats from slow-moving land-based or airborne objects, including helicopters. Kornet-E is equivalent to the export product of the 9M133 base.

The operators of the system range from Algeria and Azerbaijan to Turkey and Uganda.

Specification

BASIC

Year of Service

1998

Origins

Russia

Categories

Anti-Tank Missile System (ATGM)

Manufacturer

Degtyarev Factory Russia

Operators

Algeria; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Eritrea; Hamas; Greece; Hezbollah; India; Iran; Iraq; Jordan; Morocco; North Korea; Libya; Peru; Russia ;Syria;Turkey;Uganda

ROLLING

Anti-Tank/Anti-Tank/Anti-Material

Designed to engage at long range and defeat armored/enemy tanks.

Dimensions and Weight

Overall Length

1,200 mm

47. 24 inches

Run Length

1,200 mm

47. 24 inches

Cured weight

66.14 lbs

30.00 kg

Attractions

Integrated optics.

Action

SACLOS Laser Beam Ride

CARTRIDGE & FEED

Caliber(s)*

152mm

Rounds / Feed

Single-Shot; Reusable Launch Tube

PERFORMANCE

Max Eff. Range

18,000 ft

(5,486 m | 6,000 yd)

Rate-of-Fire

6

rds/min

VARIANTS

9M133 "Kornet" - Russian Army Designation9M133 "Korent-EM" - Enhanced anti-tank / thermobaric modelAT-14 "Spriggan" - NATO Designation